Judges 13

1The Israelites again did what was evil in Yahweh’s sight, so Yahweh gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.

2There was a certain man from Zorah, of the clan of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. His wife was unable to conceive and had borne no children.

3The angel of Yahweh appeared to the woman and said to her, “You are unable to conceive and have borne no children, but you will conceive and give birth to a son.

4Now be careful not to drink wine or beer, and do not eat anything unclean.

5For you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor is to touch his head, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb. He will begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”

6Then the woman went and told her husband, “A man of God came to me. He looked like the angel of God, very awe-inspiring. I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name.

7But he said to me, ‘You will conceive and give birth to a son. So now do not drink wine or beer, and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb until the day of his death.’”

8Then Manoah prayed to Yahweh: “Please, Lord, let the man of God you sent come to us again and teach us what we are to do for the boy who is to be born.”

9God listened to Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was sitting in the field. But Manoah her husband was not with her.

10So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, “The man who came to me the other day has appeared to me!”

11Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?” “I am,” he said.

12Then Manoah said, “Now when your words come true, what is to be the boy’s way of life and his work?”

13The angel of Yahweh said to Manoah, “The woman must be careful to do everything I told her.

14She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, she must not drink wine or beer, and she must not eat anything unclean. She must keep everything I commanded her.”

15Manoah said to the angel of Yahweh, “Please let us keep you here while we prepare a young goat for you.”

16The angel of Yahweh said to Manoah, “Even if you keep me here, I will not eat your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to Yahweh.” For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of Yahweh.

17Then Manoah said to the angel of Yahweh, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your words come true?”

18The angel of Yahweh said to him, “Why do you ask my name? It is wonderful.”

19So Manoah took the young goat and the grain offering and offered them on the rock to Yahweh. And the one who does wonders did a wonderful thing while Manoah and his wife were watching.

20As the flame went up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of Yahweh went up in the flame of the altar. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell facedown to the ground.

21The angel of Yahweh did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of Yahweh.

22Manoah said to his wife, “We are sure to die, because we have seen God!”

23But his wife said to him, “If Yahweh had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands. He would not have shown us all these things or let us hear such things as this now.”

24The woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew, and Yahweh blessed him.

25The Spirit of Yahweh began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.